The present disclosure relates generally to roadway sensing systems, which can include traffic sensor systems for detecting and/or tracking vehicles, such as to influence the operation of traffic control and/or surveillance systems.
It is desirable to monitor traffic on roadways to enable intelligent transportation system controls. For instance, traffic monitoring allows for enhanced control of traffic signals, speed sensing, detection of incidents (e.g., vehicular accidents) and congestion, collection of vehicle count data, flow monitoring, and numerous other objectives. Existing traffic detection systems are available in various forms, utilizing a variety of different sensors to gather traffic data. Inductive loop systems are known that utilize a sensor installed under pavement within a given roadway. However, those inductive loop sensors are relatively expensive to install, replace, and/or repair because of the associated road work required to access sensors located under pavement, not to mention lane closures and/or traffic disruptions associated with such road work. Other types of sensors, such as machine vision and radar sensors are also used. These different types of sensors each have their own particular advantages and disadvantages.
While the above-identified figures set forth embodiments of the present disclosure, other embodiments are also contemplated, as noted in the discussion. This disclosure presents the embodiments by way of representation and not limitation. It should be understood that numerous other modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled in the art, which fall within the scope and spirit of the principles of the disclosure. The figures may not be drawn to scale, and applications and embodiments of the present disclosure may include features and components not specifically shown in the drawings.